Millennials and Money

Let’s discuss Millennials and Money, as well as what help do millennials really wish for when it comes to working in your organizations.

Financial stress can cost organizations up to 250 billion. That’s billion with a B! I don’t think I ever learned to count that high. Two hundred and fifty billion dollars in lost wages, according to a Mercer report.

The number one generation worrying about their financial situation you think are baby boomers, right? Baby boomers – because they’re getting close to retirement. Or Gen Xers. We should have started saving sooner. No, none of the above.

Millennials and Money

It’s Millennials. Millennials worry more about their financial situation when compared to Gen Xers or baby boomers.

If you haven’t heard of Millennials, you’re living under a rock. They’re the 80 million people born after
1980. They’re the largest living generation in the United States. In four years, they’ll be 40% of the workforce and by the year 2020, it’d be the largest share of the workforce.

Millennials spend more time worrying about their financial situation when compared to any other generation. Sixty-seven percent of Millennials feel that financial stress interferes with productivity at work. What are Millennials worry about?

Understanding Millennials in the Workplace

We see organizations doing crazy things to get their attention, keep them on board, entertain and engage them.

Millennials graduated during the Great Recession. Therefore, stalling the beginning of their career or forcing them into lower paying jobs. The average millennial makes $10,000 less than their baby boomer parents did at the same age.

And the biggest difference is that Millennials have student debt! Millennials have more student debt than any generation previously. The average student loan is $37,000. They can expect to have that paid off by age 35.

40 percent of Millennials feel that worrying about their student loans interferes with their health.

So what can companies do?

The obvious answer is to help them with their student loans.

Millennials and Financial Health

90 percent of Millennials said that they would commit to a job for five years in exchange for assistance with their student loans.

Keep in mind, three years is the average job stay for a millennial. They are looking to their employers for help with their finances. Many Millennials feel that education did not prepare them to handle their finances once they graduated. They are turning to their employers.

What do they want to help with?

They want help with investing, how to do their taxes, saving for a home, and of course, student loan debt. What can a company do? They can offer a variety of financial wellness tools!

Some organizations have a financial professional on staff to assist Millennials in planning for their finances into the future and to provide education training tools. They are helping the Millennial understand their finances. Not only is this good for the organization but it also helps build a foundation that Millennial will stand on for the rest of their lives!

Helping Millennials with Money

A lot of people get close to retirement and the big thing they say is ‘Oh, I should have started saving sooner! ‘ So what can organizations do?

Show Millennials where they can save.

What’s interesting is that they tend to save for more short-term goals like a vacation. It’s the long-term goals that they really want to help with. Save for retirement.

The average American worker spends three thousand dollars a year on coffee and lunch breaks at work.
However, the run to see their barista to get their favorite cappuccino or double latte fizz is what costs companies twenty-four billion.